Striker's Proposed Move to Tottenham Collapses in Favour of Rayo Vallecano Switch

Ciprian Marica's proposed move to Tottenham Hotspur has collapsed, according to his agent, who suggests the striker is now in Madrid to sign a contract with Rayo Vallecano.

The 27-year-old striker has been negotiating with a number of clubs after leaving Schalke on a free transfer during the summer and has been persistently linked with a move to the Premier League, having previously held talks with West Ham United and Arsenal.

In recent weeks Tottenham have emerged as another possible destination for the Romania international, but an offer from Spain has seen his proposed move to White Hart Lane abandoned, according to his representative Victor Becali who confirmed his client has travelled to Madrid for talks with the La Liga club.

"Marica's transfer to Tottenham has failed," Becali, whose brother incidentally manages recent Totenham recruit Vlad Chiriches, was quoted as saying by Romanian sports outlet Pro Sport.

"Rayo do not know whether to pay the salary. There are very few teams in Spain that can pay well. Marica is now in Madrid."

Pro Sport report that Rayo are in fact prepared to meet Marica's terms and will offer him a one year contract with an option to extend that deal by a further year available.

The contract is reportedly worth €2m per year or close to £40,000 per week, an offer that West Ham reportedly refused to meet when the club held discussions with the striker earlier this month as they sought to remedy their own concerns up front.

Andre Villas-Boas' decision to exile Emmanuel Adebayor to Tottenham's development squad for the foreseeable future leaves the club with the options of Roberto Soldado and Jermain Defoe to occupy the loan striker role.

Soldado's start to life in north London has been impressive, scoring four goals in his first three appearances for the club, while Jermain Defoe has proved to be more than an able deputy for the Spaniard, as evident from his performance that produced two goals in Spurs' 4-0 win over Aston Villa in the Capital One Cup.

With young Harry Kane and record signing Erik Lamela also plausible forward options, the club would appear to be fully stocked in the striking department.